Slow…

Stopped by my shopping spot. Picked up the things I needed and went to check out. I was over the ten item limit, so I found a short all-you-can-buy line and took my place.

After a while the folks in front of me left the line with a heavy sigh. The checker was moving slow. She inspected every piece of produce, looked up the number, typed it in, and saw what each one rang up as, before moving on to repeat the prossest.

Patience is important and I was in no hurry.

Finally my turn. Everything in my cart had a bar code, none of that fresh stuff for me. But that did not change the pace of pricing. Each item was given extra special attention.

Then the finale, coupons. Only two, but one was a tricky buy-one-get-one-free. This added several minutes to the procces. Managers were called, other checkers stopped by to help, the people behind me finally left, leaving all their groceries waiting on the belt.

But we made it through. I learned that, this was Monika’s third day on the job, and she was very sweet with her little German accent.

I discovered the biggest surprise when I got home. While putting away my goods, I found that my package of gummi bears had been opened. Not a small hole in the package, but totaly ripped open. They weren’t that way when I put them in my cart. They weren’t that way when Monika inspected and scanned them. The only person between my checker and my unpacking was a bagged, who some would call “slow.” I suppose that’s the price one pays for using a coupon in a slow line. And hey, at least he made sure my bread didn’t get smashed.